The Hellhounds
by Ascended Demon
Summary: The Wolverines aren't the only ones who are resisting. Down south in northern California, two people will form a squadron to fight against the North Korean. One is just your average civilian, while the other is a super soldier who fought in World War 2. They'll ally with the Wolverines, but can they defeat the Koreans? Or will the super soldier be the last of them standing?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone. I'm the Ascended Demon. I recently saw the movie of Red Dawn, and I loved it. So, I pretty much decided to make a story about it. The thing is, I can't update that frequently since I have other stories to work on, but I plan on making a system where I work on the characters of one of my stories each week. Sound effective?**

 **Anyway, the beginning will be about my OCs, but don't worry. They'll share the spotlight with the Wolverines in due time. But for now, it'll be this squadron of mine I'll be calling the Hellhounds. Now, on with the story.**

* * *

Wars could be brutal. Wars could be intense. Hell, that's what they always are. They're not something that can be controlled, not when everyone has the will to fight or surrender. Lieutenant General Alex knew it all too well. He had seen things no one should even witness. The things he witnessed could break someone, but somehow, he had always managed to pull through. But even after all he had survived over the years in the military, he was amazed that he made it so far, even after soldiers he believed to be stronger than him had fallen.

He shook his head; no, he didn't want to think about it. Whenever someone thinks about such things, it's hard for them to stop. All the bad memories, they were strong, very strong. It's hard to coupe with bad memories. Luckily, he was on three weeks leave, and he could stay home with his friends, especially his boyfriend, Carl.

Right now, he was standing outside the house they lived in together. A large, two story house. A beautiful one, too. Alex had saved so much money in order to afford it, and it had taken a couple years, but it was worth it in the end.

Sighing, he took off his military hat just as he saw Carl open the door and come running towards him. The two tightly embraced one another, and they stayed like that for a moment.

Eventually, Carl pulled away. "You're home."

Alex smiled and nodded. "I am."

Carl grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. "Let's go inside."

Alex chuckled. "Alright, love."

Together, the two went inside their home and shut the door before Alex began taking off his uniform. He started with his black coat, placing it on the coat rack. Then he pulled off the mask he had been wearing before placing in on the coat.

He let out a sigh as Carl placed a hand on his face and kissed him on the lips.

"It doesn't matter, Alex. I'll always love you, no matter how you look or what you are."

Alex smiled and nodded. "I know, Carl."

A long time ago, back in 1943, the Allied powers had been working on a TOP SECRET operation to bring an end to World War 2. They all agreed that they needed stronger soldiers, so they selected Alex, their most skilled soldier available. Of course, there had been other candidates for the program, but Alex ended up being the one most compatible for it.

It had been a super soldier program, Operation Hellhound. The idea was to increase the physical and mental capabilities of a soldier using a machine and a serum to enhanced these capabilities beyond what a human could ever reach. Ultimately, they made Alex like Captain America, only physically stronger.

Although, to do this, canine DNA had been used in the serum. It composed of DNA from a doberman as its main ingredient, and it the end, it worked. Though the process was painful since it had been a forced transformation, Alex was able to endured it before it was complete. Once it had been, they tested his capabilities. But there had been a spy, and the spy had taken the last serum before killing the doctor who created it. Alex had tracked him down easily before capturing him.

The serum had been lost, but Alex was able to prove that he was all they needed, and about 2-3 years later, they won the war. The movie Captain America was based off of him, but with Captain America being fully human instead of an anthropomorphic doberman. Still, Alex appreciated it nonetheless.

"So, how was work this time?" Carl asked as they sat down in the living room.

Alex sighed. "Long, love. I had to train the new recruits, taught them how to jump out of a helicopter and properly use their parachute. But when you called, I dropped my phone and they laughed. I got mad and jumped off as I yelled, "Figure it out yourselves!" After that, I had so much paper work here and there, cause with my enhanced intelligence, the general figured I'd get it done more efficiently."

"I'm sorry, honey."

"It's okay, Carl. I'm home now, and you and I can finally spend some time together."

Carl smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

Alex chuckled. "So am I." He grabbed the remote and was about to turn on the TV.

"Hey, that cyber threat I heard about on the news, are they handling it?" Carl asked in concern.

Alex sighed. "It's not as simple as that, Carl. This is a national problem, and they're doing everything they can. But for now, we're just gonna have to try and pull through."

Carl nodded. "You know, I wish you had gotten home sooner. It's almost midnight."

Alex shrugged. "Well, who gives a damn? I'm home, we're together, that's all that matters."

Just then, the TV and all the lights turned off.

"Is this a blackout?" Carl asked.

"I don't know. I'll go check the breaker." Alex got up and went to the breaker before checking on it. He tried flipping the switches off before turning them back on, but it didn't work. Sighing, he went back to Carl, who had stayed in the living room since he couldn't see. Alex, of course, had night vision.

"Looks like a blackout, alright. Oh well, we can handle this."

"Should we just go to bed?" Carl asked.

Alex shrugged. "Might as well. Come on, I'll lead you to the bedroom."

* * *

The next morning, the two were sleeping together in their bed, with Carl in his boyfriend's arms. They slept together peacefully, but a sound had awoken Alex. Carl woke up because of his movements and looked around tiredly.

"Alex?"

"Sh. Do you hear that?" Focusing his hearing, Alex tried to identify the strange sound he heard. It was loud, and he could tell that it was getting closer. He ran out of the bedroom, and down the stairs before running out the door, only to freeze the moment he looked up at the sky, where he saw the planes. Military transport planes.

"Alex, what is it?" Carl asked as he ran outside, then stopped when he looked up. "What the hell?"

"North Korean." Alex ran back into the house with Carl following. The two had gone over drills for a situation like this before, so they knew exactly what to do. They took off the cushions of the sofas, opened the cabinets, and went down into the basement, grabbing all the guns that Alex had hid in the house. They were mostly handguns and rifles, and there was enough for an entire squadron, maybe even two.

They got all the gear and ammo as well before putting it in the truck of their Dodge Ram 3500 Dual Wheel, which had a steel brush guard.

"What's going on?" Carl asked as they rushed in the truck.

"I don't know." Alex replied as he bucked up and started the truck. "I think we're being invaded. And judging by how the military is doing shit, I imagine that the Koreans chose the best time to invade."

They drove down the street as paratroopers came down. As they drove, they saw a lot of destruction as more paratroopers came down. A paratrooper saw them and began firing at them, but the windshield didn't break. Alex had gotten the windows made out of a bulletproof material, military grade.

"Hold on, Carl!" He yelled as he sped up the Ram before it collided with the soldier, sending him flying over the truck, obviously dead.

"Holy shit, I can't believe that just happened." Carl commented.

Alex looked around, not seeing any other soldiers as they turned right, going in the direction that would take them to a safe place. The two were able to avoid all the Korean soldiers as they were on their way out of the city and to the forest where they'd be safe.

* * *

A few hours after getting out of the city, Alex and Carl had made it to a house in the forest, far away from any urban or suburban areas. But it wasn't just any house that they had arrived to. This particular house was built in 1919, just before the Great Depression, and a year before Alex was born. It was his parents' house, and after they had died of old age a couple decades ago, he never thought he'd come back here, especially under these type of circumstances.

He parked the Dodge in front of the house before getting out and taking out a crate from the trunk. He didn't say a word as he went into his old home and placed the crate in the living room. Sighing, Alex opened up the crate, revealing several assault rifles and sniper rifles, all of which equipped with suppressors. In his opinion, these guns were the exact definition of silent but deadly.

The first gun he took out was an old but reliable Barrett M82A1 Sniper Rifle, probably his favorite sniper rifle, and one that he had used in the Cold War; saved a lot of lives with this weapon.

Carl walked into the living room, looking at his boyfriend in concern. "Alex, you okay?"

Alex nodded. "I'm fine."

Carl sat down next to him. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Alex shook his head. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, we have other problems."

"This is where you grew up, isn't it?" Carl asked knowingly. "Looks like it was made around the time you were born."

"It was. About one year before I was born. Mom and Dad decided to have a life here, away from the city." Alex sighed. "Saved their money, kept it all in the house instead of at the bank. One of the smartest decisions they'd ever made."

"Survived the Depression?"

"Yep. They were one of the few people who hadn't lost their money."

"What was it like, during the Great Depression?"

"I was young back then. Of course, it lasted for quite awhile, up until I joined the army in World War 2. Before joining, it was a sad time. There were times where we'd go into town, and you'd see a lot of poor people. Hardly any stores were open, the rest had been closed before being destroyed. One of the saddest times in my life."

"What about when you got out?" Carl asked gently. "When the war began?"

"Well, it was pretty intense. Some of America's most intense wars in history." Alex shook his head. "Ever since we won, after I shot Adolf, I hoped, I prayed that something like that wouldn't happen again. Now, we've been invaded by the Koreans. It would probably explain the power outage; I bet it was an EMP weapon of some sort. North Korea would've managed to create one, but to pull off an invasion like this? They'd have to invade a majority of the US, EMP or not. I wouldn't be surprised if the Russians were involved. Fucking Soviets still exist, along with that dictatorship they call communism. Of course, they couldn't have conquered all fifty states. There's likely ten or so that haven't fallen and can resist for now. But they're probably surrounded, and fighting back won't be simple. Not without the rest of the states."

Carl placed his hand on Alex's. "We can handle this."

Alex smiled slightly and nodded. "We will. We just need to come up with a way to fight back."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, what'd you all think? I would've written more, but this is just the beginning. These two need time to get ready to actually do anything. Anyway, leave a review of what you think and I'll probably be able to update within two weeks or so.**


	2. Chapter 2

Setting everything up had been easy, even though it was just the two of them. Back in World War 1, Alex's father had made a massive underground cavern, made for certain situation: invasion, break in, pretty much a panic room. After World War 2 ended, Alex had improved the Den, which he called it. Due to his canine traits, he had been able to make it larger. The cavern had several rooms, multiple tunnels, and at least four different entrances and exits.

It was so strange to be in the Den after so many years, everything inside looked old, but well taken care of from the last time he had been down here. The first room was the original den, and inside was some stuff that belonged to Alex's father. Guns, military uniforms, things like that. Most of the stuff down here would be considered antiques, and each one was probably worth a fortune to the right buyer, and there were plenty of those across America. It was a good thing Alex hadn't sold anything, cause despite how old all of it was, he might be able to make good use of it.

Right now, Alex was setting up a sniper post on a western yellow pine he had planted here back in the 50s, a couple years after WW2 ended. Due to his claws, he could easily use this tree to his advantage, even jump to some of the other trees around him.

"Alex!"

He looked down and saw Carl walking over with a few people he didn't recognize, but he didn't smell anything that suggested they were hostile.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"I found these people in the woods near the river. They're trustworthy, and they need help." Carl replied.

Alex put the strap of the rifle over his shoulder before jumping down, landing in front of them gracefully before walking over. "I see you're a marine."

"How do you know?" The man asked.

"Because I served."

"Where'd you serve?"

"World War 2, the Cold War, and I was reluctantly part of the Vietnam War."

The soldier's eyes widened. "You're the guy they called "The Hellhound?"

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, I've been called that by the Nazis, then the Russians, except both no longer know anything about me. The ones that did either died of being shot or old age."

"What's he talking about?" A girl, a teenager, asked.

"There's these rumors about a super soldier from World War 2." The soldier explained, then looked at Alex before holding out his hand. "Sergeant Marcus Richards."

Alex shook his hand. "Lieutenant General Alex Williams."

Marcus's eyes widened slightly. "You outrank me by a lot. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Alex smirked. "Took me about seventeen years of service to earn this rank. I was offered a promotion to General, but I declined. It'd mean less time with Carl."

Marcus raised a brow. "Brothers?"

Alex shook his head. "Engaged."

Marcus nodded. "Knew a few guys that were together in my unit. Then again, I didn't know them that well. They were young and unsure of what everyone else thought, but I could care less."

Alex shrugged. "So, what are you doing here?"

"We got chased by the Koreans, and we thought we'd be safe here. I hope you don't mind if we stay."

"Nonsense. I sense no deception from you."

"How can you tell?"

"Enhanced hearing; no increase in heart rate. Enhanced smell; no pheromones, and enhanced sight; no physical body ticks. Nothing that suggests that you're lying. Besides, you're a marine, so I'm sure we can work together to survive."

"Likewise. So, where's the house?"

* * *

After taking them to the house, Alex was able to make them some food to eat. It was from some of the better tasting MREs he had brought from his and Carl's house, and it wasn't long before they had finished cooking. While the food had been cooking, they talked for a bit. The other three were Kyle, Lexi, and Olivia.

Right now, everyone was eating in the living room, where they were currently discussing the situation.

"Sounds like it would've been an EMP. Explains the blackouts." Marcus said.

"What's an EMP?" Lexi asked in confusion.

"It stand for Electro Magnetic Pulse. An EMP is usually a weapon that can disable most things electric. It probably disabled a lot of military equipment, making the military unable to properly defend the US, especially when they can't communicate with one another, or use the necessary equipment for a situation like this." Alex explained.

"So we're defenseless." Kyle said.

Alex shook his head. "Not entirely. I doubt they could've conquered every state in the US. There has to be a few left that can resist. But without being able to communicate, it's going to be difficult to launch a counterstrike against the North Koreans."

"So, that's it?" Olivia asked.

"He didn't say that." Carl said. "Me and him plan to do whatever we can to defend ourselves, and maybe do some damage to these Koreans."

"But it's not that simple. It's going to take more than killing off a few North Korean soldiers. We have to do bigger things than that." Alex stated.

"Like what?" Kyle asked, sounding eager.

"Well, the Koreans can't really make any bases at the moment. For now, they'll have to use whatever they can get. Auto body shops to store some of their ground vehicles, police stations as bases of operations, things like that." Marcus explained. "Hell, it's what I'd do."

Alex nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking. Whenever we fought against soldiers, it was good to use the environment to our advantage. In fact, the environment can actually affect the effectiveness of your weapons. Tight areas require submachine guns for close quarter combat. Higher ground and an open area can be suitable for snipers. Things like that."

"So, you're going to start a rebellion?" Kyle asked.

"Not that simple, but we can." Alex replied.

"I can help. Assuming we have the resources to fight." Marcus said.

"We have an arsenal, but what we really need is more soldiers. An entire squadron, really. Back then, I didn't do operations alone. I have others fighting alongside me." Alex smiled slightly at the memory of his former comrades. "Get this, we called ourselves the Hellhounds."

"Sounds bad ass." Kyle commented. "Could I join this rebellion?"

"You want to fight?" Marcus asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"They got my mom. I need to get her back, and I know I can't do that alone." Kyle explained.

"Going after her wouldn't be the first thing we'd do, Kyle." Alex stated. "We don't know where they're holding her, and until we figure out, she's gonna have to hold on."

Kyle nodded understandingly. "So, what do we do first?"


	3. Chapter 3

Sneaking back into Salt Lake City had been much easier than they thought it would be, but the Koreans had mistaken them for mere civilians. Alex, of course, had to wear a hood so no one would see him. Not that it mattered; bullets would only ricochet off him. That, and they might even hit the shooters.

So, the group made it to the top of an old building, where they could see the situation. There were Korean military vehicles moving down the streets, Alex could see some posters in the distance, which were meant for getting the people of America on their side. And while Alex would find it pointless, he knew that there were some people who would be convinced by these lies.

"Well, I'll be damned." He commented.

"What, what is it?" Carl asked in concern.

"The Koreans put up some posters here and there, trying to get the people on their side." Alex answered.

"Where? I don't see any." Olivia said as she leaned forward, trying to find the posters.

Alex chuckled. "They're a little too far for you to see them. I can only see them because of my sight. Like being an eagle."

"What do they say?"

"Restoring your country," there's "Repairing your economy." And let's not forget "Fighting corporate corruption," "Helping you back on your feet," "Defeating your enemy," and "Rebuilding your reputation."

"No one's actually going to buy that, right?" Kyle asked.

"Well, this is how you win the trust of the people, Kyle." Marcus stated.

"Exactly." Alex agreed. "Shouldn't be too surprised if people actually do listen to it."

"So, what exactly are we going to do?" Lexi asked.

Alex sighed. "That might not be the hard part. But first, if the four of you are going to help us, then you'll need some marksmanship training. Well, Marcus won't since he's already trained. And I taught Carl everything he'll need to know. But the rest of you will have a more difficult time. Training starts after we get back to the house."

* * *

Only a few minutes after getting back to the house, Alex had grabbed every gun he and Carl had, while he carried a FN SCAR Assault Rifle, one of his favorite rifles.

"Okay, so, I've set up a few targets about fifty yards out." Alex said, pointing at the training targets with human silhouettes. "Now, a couple shots to the body are usually fatal, especially if you hit them in an organ, such as the stomach, kidneys, doesn't matter as long as they go down. But sometimes, those shots are survivable, usually for strong soldiers, but believe me, I've seen soldiers walk away from multiple gunshot wounds, even without proper treatment. If you can, try to go for the head. If you can't go for the chest or abdomen. But I should ask, have any of you, not counting Marcus and Carl, had any training?"

"Well, I used to shoot 22s back in Texas." Lexi stated.

"4H?" Alex asked.

Lexi nodded. "Yeah."

"How many years?"

"At least six. I quit 4H when I moved to Utah, but every now and then, I'd drive to the woods and shoot a few targets."

Alex nodded. "Good. You're familiar with guns." He walked over to the guns he had set down on the trunk of the truck and handed Lexi an old, M14, equipped with an ACOG scope and a grip.

"No way! An M14? I thought they didn't use these anymore!" She exclaimed as she grabbed it and aimed down the sights.

Alex chuckled. "They do. Just not as much as before. Modern guns and all."

"Well, I think they should use these things more often. They're always so reliable in Black Ops." Lexi said.

"She's a fan of Call of Duty." Kyle stated.

Lexi aimed the rifle at one of the targets, making sure she had a good grip on it, since she knew it would likely have stronger recoil than a 22. Taking a deep breath, she fired multiple shots at the head of the target, stopping when there were five holes right above the eyes.

Alex grinned. "Yeah, she's a natural." He looked at Kyle and Olivia. "We're gonna start you out with some M4s. Lexi seems like the M14 will suit her best."

So, for the next few hours, the group had been working on using the firearms and keeping the rifles steady. It wasn't easy, since rifles become heavy after a while, but they seemed to understand what they needed to do.

"You know, it seems like they'll be combat ready if we just teach them the basics." Carl said.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, but there's only one way to tell for sure, and that's to actually go back to Salt Lake City. Then again, we could use more supplies. The armored vehicles, extra guns, more food if possible; we won't last long on whatever deer we manage to find out here"

"Where would the Koreans keep the food?" Carl asked.

Alex shrugged. "I have no idea, but we could probably get some food from restaurants. Didn't seem like the Koreans closed those stores down. They're trying to convert the people onto their side, so they're gonna try to not interfere with their normal lives as much as possible. Although, they did take prisoners. Seemed like the ones who were likely a threat to them."

Carl nodded. "If Kyle and Olivia are combat ready by today, what'll be our first target?"

Alex sighed. "Well, Carl, Kyle and Olivia are still getting the basics of using firearms, and we still need to teach them hand-to-hand combat, because you never know. But if it seems like they're ready to at least use their guns, then we'd have to start small whenever we fight. We could attack a checkpoint, or we can lure multiple soldiers into an ambush."

"Seems like a good place to start." Carl commented.

"Yeah, but we're gonna have to see if they're ready to fight all of a sudden."

"They seem to be doing okay. I have faith in them."

"So do I."

* * *

For the next two days, Alex, Marcus, and Carl had been teaching Kyle, Olivia, and Lexi the basics of what they needed to know in order to fight and survive. So far, the three of them were doing well, mostly Lexi, since she was an experience markswoman. And Kyle and Olivia were able to get the hang of things at a fair pace. While they had trouble keeping their guns steady during target practice, they were still capable of using guns. They even knew the basics of fighting and how to dodge most common forms of attack, like an incoming knife.

"You now, they might be ready for an actual fight." Alex said.

Carl nodded. "Where do we start?"

"I have an idea of where we can start. Start small, then we'll work our way up."

"Like a checkpoint or an ambush?"

Alex grinned. "Exactly."

Carl chuckled. "Yeah, I can see that happening."

"There's going to be multiple checkpoints here and there in Salt Lake City, so we will have plenty of targets. We might be able to do some interrogation. Although, we may have to kill them if we interrogate them."

"Hey, what about one of those stadiums they're using as prison camps?" Marcus asked. "After working our way up, we can free some people."

"Maybe, but they'll have nowhere to go, really." Alex replied. "Then again, they can try going out of town or just blend in with the other civilians. Either way, I think we should liberate the rest of the city before freeing prisoners that'll have no place to go."

"Sounds fair. So, where do you plan on starting?" Marcus asked.

Alex raised a brow. "You're waiting for my orders?"

Marcus shrugged. "You are a lieutenant general. You outrank all of us, not to mention, you have so much more experience than any of us combined. I figure you should be the leader of this squadron, since you're the best of us."

Alex nodded. "Well, since we're going to start small, I remember seeing this checkpoint, wouldn't be hard for us to get to it. Although, I prefer long range, so I'd just be covering you guys from a distance. Most likely rooftops. Lexi could probably help."

"Sounds like a plan." Marcus looked at the others. "You guys ready for this?"

"Hell yeah, I'm ready." Kyle answered.

"Count me in." Lexi said.

Alex nodded. "Alright. Remember, you three aren't completely ready, but we should still be able to do some damage regardless. As long as we plan it right and remain careful, we should be able to initiate an attack without any casualties. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

From the rooftop of a store several yards away from the checkpoint, Alex and Lexi were patiently waiting with their rifles ready as they stayed behind the cover of the brick wall. Alex was moving his fingers against his M82A1 as he listened carefully for the right time. Lexi was glancing over the wall every now and then to count the number of soldiers that were in the area.

"Eight."

She looked at Alex. "What?"

"There's eight soldiers. I can smell them from here." He replied.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"When's Kyle going to be ready?" Lexi asked.

"Give him a minute. It won't be long now." Alex's ear perked up. "Go time."

The two of them looked over the wall to see at least seven of the soldiers chasing Kyle down the block, towards the alley were the others were waiting. Alex and Lexi laid their rifles on the wall and waited until the soldiers had made a turn down the alley. The store they were standing on was across the street of where the alley was, so they had an excellent vantage point of the hostiles.

The moment Kyle rolled down his side was when everyone attacked. Marcus, Carl, and Olivia came out from under pieces of trash in the alley, and Alex and Lexi began opening fire. But when he saw that everyone was handling the situation well, Alex aimed his rifle down the block towards the checkpoint. He steadied his weapon so that he was aiming directly at the soldier by the checkpoint, who was completely unaware of what was happening. Mostly because they all had used suppressor attachments.

Alex took a deep breath, slowly squeezing the trigger, then the soldier flew back several feet. Seeing that there were no Korean soldiers around, Alex gave the signal for everyone down in the alley to make their way to the checkpoint. They immediately made their way to the checkpoint, while Alex and Lexi switched position to the roof of the building next to the checkpoint.

"Everyone ready?" Alex asked.

Carl nodded. "Yeah, I'll get the uniform on."

"Any incoming?" Marcus asked.

Alex shook his head. "I'd be able to hear them if they were close. We should have enough time to set up an ambush, but we need to hurry just to be sure. Kyle, Olivia, get inside the post. Marcus, you hide behind the sandbags. Lexi and I will give you support from here."

Everyone got into position as Carl finished putting on the uniform. After that, the squad didn't have to wait long before a patrol came by. The soldiers got out of the vehicle, not having the chance to realize it was a trap before everyone opened fire.

"Man, this is so much easier than I thought it would be." Carl commented.

Alex jumped down from the roof and walked over to Carl. "This is just the beginning, hon. But as long as we know what we're doing, these attacks shouldn't be hard. Now, let's gather the bodies. We need to dispose of them properly."

"What are we gonna do with them?" Olivia asked.

"We're gonna take them five miles east of the base, then we're gonna bury." Alex answered. "By making it look like we were never here and that their troops just disappeared, it'll be hard for the North Koreans to fight against us because they won't have any idea what they're fighting against. And if we can keep that up, then the odds might be in our favor."

"What about this?" Kyle asked, pointing at the armored vehicle.

"We'll take it with us." Alex replied. "We might have some use for it. It could also help us sneak past more soldiers than we can kill. Now, come on. Let's get these bodies loaded up, collect anything they have that might be useful, then get the hell out of the city."

* * *

Some hours later, five miles away from the house, Alex and the others had just finished burying the soldiers and were now driving back. The soldiers didn't have much equipment, but they had guns and ammunition, along with a couple grenades. The checkpoint post and the bodies didn't have any kind of Intel, neither did the truck they were driving. Although, the truck did have a few explosives, as Marcus had found more than one C4.

"Well, that was intense." Carl spoke up, trying to start a conversation.

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, it was. But you should've seen World War 2, Carl. D-Day was a relatively horrible day, too many good soldiers died. I was lucky that I was bulletproof, managed to get close enough to the Nazis slaughtering us all."

"How bad was it?" Lexi asked, speaking in a gentle tone, since it was obviously a sensitive topic. Or, she thought it was at least.

"I think I might've gotten PTSD." Alex stated. "Of course, my regeneration just so happens to apply to my mind, so all that stress eventually cleared up over time. Still, every now and then, I remember exactly what it was like. The feeling, the smell, the sound of machine gun fire, I'm invading Germany all over again. Of course, for me, the way the whole memory works is that it's easier for me to recognize it as just that, a memory. To someone else... well, let's just say that it feels to real for normal people to remember it isn't. Can't blame them, that was a dark day, but these things happen, a little more than they should."

"Did you fight in all battles during World War 2?" Olivia asked curiously.

Alex shrugged. "I wouldn't say "all battles", since I didn't become a super soldier till after the US got involved into the war, but after my transformation, yeah. And Germany wasn't a bad country in its own right, it was just full of very bad people. The Cold War was a bit more intense in some aspects."

"I thought there wasn't fighting in the Cold War." Olivia said.

"Not exactly." Marcus said. "In the Cold War, there wasn't _much_ fighting, but all of it had been classified, even now. There wasn't enough fighting to cause World War 3, but it was intense from what I've heard."

"Every now and then." Alex shrugged. "Most of the time, though, we used stealth, and that's actually one of the reasons both countries were able to keep the fighting classified. Right now, it doesn't matter who knows if there was any fighting or not. America has to worry about the Koreans for now, and trust me, we have a long way until we're able to liberate the US."

"So you're saying we're on our own?" Kyle asked, somewhat concerned.

Alex shook his head. "Highly unlikely, kid. Worst-case scenario is that most states have been captured and the odds aren't really in our favor. However, there's good news: the Koreans couldn't possibly cripple our military, not completely, so out there somewhere are our soldiers fighting back. But either way, we are technically on our own, since there doesn't seem to be any military within this part of Utah. But who said that means we have to be on our own?"

"I don't get it." Marcus said.

"It wouldn't be impossible for us to make a few allies here and there in Salt Lake." Alex explained. "We can start out small, find the people who can get us a bit of supplies, coordinate some attacks. If we're lucky, there should be a few civilians who might've overheard something about the Koreans, maybe the Russians. With some Intel, we can cripple the Koreans. Then again, I wouldn't say it's that bad. Out there is maybe two or three dozen states that haven't fallen."

"I thought you said it was like ten that wouldn't have fallen." Carl said.

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, that's after we just got invaded, so I overreacted. Ten states being left wouldn't be impossible, considering how powerful Russia and North Korea might be since they're working together. Fortunately, though, they couldn't take that kind of chance and deploy all their assets. That's suicide, and even they know better." Then he sighed. "But, that's tomorrow's problem. It's getting late, and you all are gonna need some rest. Tomorrow, we're gonna cause more chaos, scavenge whatever we can, then disappear."

* * *

Late at night, everyone had gone to sleep to prepare themselves for tomorrow. Well, mostly everyone. Alex stood on a branch in a tree, a sniper rifle in his hands as he stood there, not moving even slightly as he listened closely. There was no one in sight, nor where there any animals nearby. Except for maybe the few crickets that he could hear in the distance. Other than insects, the only other sound was the sound of the breeze.

It was a mostly quiet night as Alex was on watch, not that he bothered telling the others about what he was doing. They had already fallen asleep, anyway, and he figured they should get some rest. They would need it, and unfortunately, it was too late to get those kids to change their minds.

Olivia, Kyle, and Lexi were hardly mature, maybe seventeen or eighteen at best. Alex never approved of kids their age fighting in battle, especially when they wouldn't be able to unseen some things. Marcus seemed okay, though. Despite his youth, he was a sergeant. Then again, he was at least thirty, but that was still young when Alex compared Marcus to himself. Alex himself was almost a hundred years old, and when he was young, he had seen so much. He had been only 9 when the Great Depression began, but it ended when he was 19, so he could remember everything perfectly; all the poor people he had seen on the streets, the starving kids, a dark time for America.

And once again, America was facing yet another dark time, dealing with invading North Koreans and Russians. Alex had not felt so much anger since he had witnessed what the Nazis would do to Jewish people. The moment he saw it, there only one thing he could think of: Nazis must die. So after that, there was never a Nazi prisoner, because he never showed such mercy to a Nazi.

And now, he wouldn't show any mercy to the people who were now trying to take America from them, trying to destroy their way of life. This enemy was different from all others that he had faced, because this enemy was here, in his home. This enemy was powerful, especially when most of the United States was crippled. But they wouldn't win, they wouldn't be allowed to.

Alex sighed, and he knew what he had to do now. "I'll be back, Carl. Stay safe."

* * *

A couple hours later, probably around midnight, Carl was stirring a bit before he opened his eyes. Carl let out a tired yawn and got off the couch before stretching, trying to wake up. It didn't surprise him when he saw that Alex wasn't in the living room. His fiance was most likely outside, guarding the house while they all slept. At least, that's what Carl thought until he found the note on the armrest of the couch.

Frowning in confusion, he picked up the note and walked over to a lamp. He turned on the light and placed the note in it so he could read what it said. It wasn't much, just a note from Alex saying that he'd be back before dawn. However, Carl's eyes widened as he knew that there was only one thing Alex could be doing this late.

"No. No, no, no."

"Carl?" Marcus asked tiredly, having just woken up because of the light from the lamp. "What are you doing? What time is it?"

"We got a problem." Carl said worriedly.

Marcus became alert. "What? Are they here?"

Carl shook his head. "No. Alex is gone."

Marcus raised a brow. "Then he probably went to get something from the Den, or he's guarding the house."

"No, he left a note saying that he'd be gone until morning."

"Why would he be gone till morning?"

And Carl realized why. "Oh, no. He's angry. He's angry at the Koreans and the Russians."

"Yeah, I'm angry about it, too." Marcus replied in confusion. "We all are."

"No, you don't understand." Carl said. "Alex saw what the Nazis had done to the Jews. That made him angry, angrier than he's ever been! And lately, he's seemed pretty pissed off. I think he's going to attack."

Marcus's eyes widened as he realizing what the problem was. "God, damn it. Okay, we might be able to catch up with him. Stop him before he does something rash."

"Marcus, we can't. It's too late. By now, Alex has probably made it to Salt Lake City. Even if we get there, he will have done something."

"Then what are we gonna do?"

A few tears formed in Carl's eyes. "I think all we can do is wait. Because we can't stop him now."


End file.
